This pioneering stop-motion series from Halas
& Batchelor stars a "magic"
pair of scissors called Snip, and an eager
origami puppy dog called Snap.
Snip can bring things to life by cutting round
them. He even has a hand in
Snap's creation, as we witness the pup's assembly
during the opening credits.
Snap then heads off to explore a sublime blend
of household and papercaft
landscapes, encountering a host of card characters
and animated everyday
objects who confound and amuse him. Snip's
never too far away, mind,
so he's ready to cut in and save the day with some
more papercraft
magic, when required...

Oh, hang on. Did we attach a gender to Snip
in that previous paragraph?
The series doesn't define those scissors as
being male or female!

Gender specifics aside, this is a brilliantly
simple premise for a series and
it spotlights some super papercraft, courtesy of
the Danish origami and
kirigami master, Thoki Yenn. We meet Thoki in that
opening sequence,
wielding Snip and creating his puppy pal for
real. John Halas first met
Thoki - or "Thok" - whilst visiting Copenhagen
for a lecture. Thok was
attempting to animate some of his paper sculptures
in a series of short
film strips, so John Halas invited him to London
to develop the project
and in time, Snip and Snap came to life.

Snip,
Snap, Snarl and Sniff

There's Snip and there's Snap, but we mustn't
forget there are two more
card canines in the series, in the form of
Snarl and Sniff. Snarl is an
overbearing bulldog, whilst Sniff is a super-competitive
pooch. Sniff
and Snap's feud in the episode "Top Dog"
was good enough to earn
them First Prize at the Venice Film Festival.

Snipping
Free

Notice the name of Elisabeth Beresford on the
series credits, several years
before she found acclaim via the
Wombles.